Just a month ago, this fall was full of promise. The number of COVID was dropping, vaccines were readily available to anyone who wanted one, and the city was hit by a slew of deadly concert bookings after more than a year of analog silence.

And now? Well, now things are feeling a little more … tenuous. The state reported 2,167 new COVID cases on Wednesday – the highest number reported since April. This ongoing spike has been largely attributed to the delta variant, which is more highly transmissible than previous coronavirus strains. And there is potentially worse news on the horizon, with the lambda variant (which has reportedly shown resistance to the vaccine) and the delta plus variant (absolutely not worth the monthly subscription fee) starting to appear on the radar. .

But, at least for now, we’re going to approach the coming weeks with some hope. So mask yourself, get vaccinated (a must if you want to attend some of these concerts) and fingers crossed that we can see all of these shows, presented here in chronological order.

Wilco at Wonderbus on August 29

Years ago I saw Wilco play at Otto’s, a small club in DeKalb, Illinois. The concert took place shortly after singer Jeff Tweedy finished rehab for a painkiller addiction, but what struck me most was the condition of the denim jacket he was wearing. wore, which had a pronounced tear right where his guitar strap hung, suggesting countless hours spent with the instrument slung. It is a dedication to craftsmanship that continues to reveal itself in Wilco’s music, which replaced the relentless research of early albums such as A ghost is born with growing content evident on versions such as Ode to Joy, as of 2019. We all grow up someday, but few people sound so good.

Faye Webster at A&R on September 7th

The Atlanta singer’s fourth and best album, I know I’m funny haha, is more revealing and confident than its title suggests, with Webster weaving his way through a series of majestic country-tinged ballads filled with concrete observations. “If you’re not here, I’m missing a whole half of me,” she sings on “Half of Me,” one of the few songs that focuses on the precariousness of love.

Japanese breakfast at Skully’s on September 14

On Jubilee, released in June, Michelle Zauner, the creative force behind Japanese Breakfast, embraces joy. In interviews, Zauner has celebrated the album as a fresh start after years of writing about grief, and the record’s release date has even been pushed back in an attempt to free it from the heaviness of the COVID era. which, hey, good effort. The party spirit of the LP is evident in everything from the musical freedom embraced by Zauner (the songs range from electro-pop to orchestral indie-rock) to the lyrics, which, while far from teary-eyed, consistently embrace the promise of a better future. “I want to believe in something,” Zauner sings on “Be Sweet”, and that need resonates everywhere.

Mdou Moctar at the Ace of Cups on September 15th

Every few years, critics claim guitar rock is dead, often ignoring the fact that it might just be mutating, appearing in new forms and on different continents (sort of like a certain … whatever … ). On new album Africa Victim, released in May on Matador Records, the Tuareg guitarist pushes back the limits of the form of which he had until then professed ignorance. “I don’t know what exactly rock is,” Moctar has said in the past, and he approaches the band’s new album without worrying about both the weight of the genre’s history and their current expectations. This is especially true of songs like the opening of the album “Chismiten”, where the guitarist’s fluid solo gradually approaches transcendence.

Phoebe Bridgers at Express Live on September 18th

On “I know the end”, off the full length punisher, Bridgers hits the gas for an apocalyptic road song that manages to capture the desperate climate of recent years. “Windows down, scream long / To some America first rap-country song,” she sings. “Slaughterhouse, mall / slot machines, fear of God.” Eventually these words give way to a primal cry, Bridgers full video Aphex Twin as the instruments tumble around her like debris in a storm. It’s a rare blast on a graceful, largely downtempo album that is alternately sad and funny, the piercing-eyed songwriter presenting a multitude of intimate details that collectively provide the big picture.

Julien Baker at Newport on September 28

“I wish I could pull out all the sad songs in one track,” the Memphis-born singer and songwriter said during a 2016 concert at the Big Room Bar. “But these are all sad songs, and the big track is my set.” Not much has changed in the next five years, with a new album Little oversights find the musician continuing to press on the accumulated bruises. “What if it’s all black, baby, all the time?” She sings on “Hardline”. But even though the vibe is often dark, Baker, whose thick voice has never sounded better, constantly draws golden hues into the music, projecting the feeling that there can be beauty in finding a way to simply to survive.

Margo Price at Express Live outdoors on October 10

The peasant woman has had an incredibly difficult 2020 which included an extended stay in quarantine with a newborn baby while her husband battled a coronavirus infection. “He had breathing problems every night”, Price wrote in a candid essay in Vogue. “I could hardly find rest on my own, I was so worried. I listened to his breath as he slept. Did I have it? Did the children have it? Were they going to die in the middle of the night? Thankfully, Price and her husband have moved on to the other side – a recurring theme in the singer’s music, which is filled with survival stories that Price delivers in a brassy tone, already done.

Lucy Dacus at Newport on October 12

Arguably the most cutting edge songwriter working today, Dacus reaches new heights on the recently released Home video, an album that focuses on adolescent relationships (romantic and platonic friendships), exploring those past connections as a way to better establish who she is right now. Throughout, the writing is graceful and incisive, with Dacus often adopting a near conversational tone that befits lucid writing. “You called me cerebral / I didn’t know what you meant,” she sings over the shimmering “Brando”. “But now I’m doing it / Would that have killed you / Calling me pretty instead?” Expect the Newport to shrink to bedroom size that night.

Titus Andronicus at the Ace of Cups on November 14

This tour will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the New Jersey punks escape album The monitor (technically the 11th anniversary, due to COVID delays). Filled with generational angst and projecting a vision of the apocalyptic world, the LP sounds like home in 2021 in America, especially as the leader Patrick Stickles yells: “I’m at the end of my rope / And I want to swing. ” The singer will be joined here in the act by a full house.

Tyler, the creator at the Schottenstein Center on February 27, 2022

Due to the longer time frame, we have more hope for this show than most on the list (pending discovery of the psi plus variant). And that should be great, as the rapper, singer and producer has continued to grow and evolve with every release, including the new album. Call me if you get lost, from June, an effort with loose limbs that evokes the freedom at all levels of the era of hip-hop mixtapes. This remains true that Tyler is engaged in a personal bloodletting (on “Massa” he reveals his mother was living in a shelter when he ditched the song “Yonkers”), rhyming on the alienating effect of fame or simply flexing on a track with Lil Wayne. “I paint full pictures from my perspective on these drum breaks,” he raps on “Massa”. Even though these paintings keep changing, the images remain effortlessly convincing.